Cheques may take up to six days to clear while cash deposits could be delayed for up to three days as of Saturday, after the Central Bank allowed banks some leeway to help them weather COVID-19 staff shortages. 

The relaxed clearing rules form part of a Central Bank directive aimed at outlining banks' "contingency arrangements". 

So-called Directive 17 sets the "maximum outages allowed to banks as part of their contingency arrangements when providing essential services to their clients".

Such services include depositing and withdrawing cash as well as depositing, cashing and clearing cheques and bank drafts, among others.  

The directive gives banks more time to provide these services to clients while under contingency situations. The measure comes into force on Saturday (January 1).

In a statement, the Central Bank said that the changes were being made after consultations with banks and temporary. 

They are intended to help banks weather "the current wave of coronavirus-induced disruptions," it said. 

Retail banks have been forced to shut down branches, restrict in-person services and set minimum withdrawal limits from cash tellers as they work to minimise the impact of record peaks in COVID-19 cases. 

The Central Bank said it encouraged locals to make use of ATMs, to reduce the number of people who need to rely on over-the-counter services.

What are the new measures?

• The amount of time taken to clear cheques and drafts has been extended temporarily from three days to a maximum of six days;
• Cash deposits may also take up to three days to clear.
• Banks must still provide over-the-counter cash deposit services for all those customers who do not have access to alternatives such as ATMs.